Chapter 06: Victory and the end of the 54th.

Victory over Germany in May found the 54th still in the Marseille area. Frank Baker was on leave in London in Trafalger Square with a girlfriend on VE day. Later, on his way back to Marseilles he got stopped in Paris, and by the time he got back to Marseilles the unit was gone. (Double check this with Frank) He was reassigned to the MP’s in Southampton England. He also spent time at a college set up by the military studying radio production for 1 term. Baker

The monthly report for the 54th Repl bn, 30 June 1945, listed the following functions:

Casuals returning to their units from hospitals.

Stockage Troops for Delta Base Staging Areas.

Age Limitation Troops returning to Zone of Interior.

Candidate Personnel returning to Zone of Interior.

These functions continued to be listed on the monthly reports through the end of September 1945.

This undated image shows a baseball team in front of a fence and sign. It looks like the sign might say Delta Base Section, Marseilles, but little is visible. Bob Butcher is center front row. Some of the other men in the photo are also in photos with Butcher dated April 1945. There are several photos in the Butcher photos that show groups of men from this team. However, none of the other names appear in the rosters for the 54th at the time the unit left the US in 1943.

Play ball in Marseille France, 1945, Bob Butcher on right end.

This photograph is assumed to be in Marseille. Bob is on the far right.

On 22 October orders were issued from Headquarters, Ground Forces Reinforcement Command, that effective 4 November the 54th Replacement Battalion would be inactivated, along with a number of other Replacement units. The last record I have from the 54th states

The 54th Reinforcement Battalion officially inactivated on 4 November 1945 as per Par 1, General Order #53, Headquarters, Ground Forces Replacement Command, dated 22 October 1945.